February 28, 2014

MPQ-scientists record broad absorption spectra on a
microsecond scale with two laser frequency combs.

A team of scientists around Dr. Nathalie Picqué and Prof.
Theodor W. Hänsch at the Laser Spectroscopy Division of the Max Planck
Institute of Quantum Optics (Garching), in a collaboration with the
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich and the Institut des Sciences
Moléculaires d’Orsay (France) now reports on a new method of real-time
identification and quantification of molecular species (Nature Communications
5, 3375 – Feb. 27, 2014).

Passwords guard everything from our cellphones to our bank
accounts, but they often present a relatively weak challenge to hackers looking
for the information that passwords should protect. New research from the
University of Alabama at Birmingham, in collaboration with the University of
California at Irvine, proposes and tests a variety of methods that add a strong
second layer of security to a password.

While widespread quantum computing may still be 15 years
away, a computer engineering professor at Missouri University of Science and
Technology has patented a quantum processor capable of parallel computing that
uses no transistors.

Dr. C.H. Wu, professor of electrical and computer
engineering at Missouri S&T, patented the device and will speak about the
research behind the patent at the American Physical Society March Meeting 2014
in Denver on Monday, March 3. His research will also be published in an
upcoming issue of the journal Cellular Automata. Wu’s work on the subject was
also published in a 2011 issue of the Journal of Applied Physics.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames
Laboratory are revealing the mysteries of new materials using ultra-fast laser
spectroscopy, similar to high-speed photography where many quick images reveal
subtle movements and changes inside the materials. Seeing these dynamics is one
emerging strategy to better understanding how new materials work, so that we
can use them to enable new energy technologies.

Physicist Jigang Wang and his colleagues recently used
ultra-fast laser spectroscopy to examine and explain the mysterious electronic
properties of iron-based superconductors. Results appeared in Nature
Communications this month.

Virginia Tech will play host to a first-time,
university-wide competition for students to deign on-demand, remote-controlled
3-D printed aircraft and ground vehicles.

Up for grabs in the Spring 2014 Additive Manufacturing Grand
Challenge that launches March 4: $15,000 in cash prizes, including $3,000 for
first prize in each of the air and ground vehicle competitions, and $250 for
each team that creates a functional vehicle.

Undergraduate and graduate students, individually or in
groups, are invited to participate from across the university, no matter their
course of study.

Climate scientists need to interact more directly with the
public through blogs and social media, researchers from the University of
Bristol, the University of Reading and the Met Office argue in a commentary in
this week's Nature Climate Change.

Panasonic Corporation announced that it has developed a
loudspeaker using a diaphragm that is made with plant opals [1] in bamboo
leaves for the first time in the industry*1 to improve sound quality. The new
Bamboo Plant Opal Loudspeaker can deliver according to the original sound by
reproducing clear sound with low distortion, thanks to the use of the hard,
plant opal materials occurring in bamboo for the diaphragm. Samples of the new
loudspeaker, which is suitable for automotive and home audio systems, will be
available on March 1.

Lexus will display the “F Sport” grade of the new “RC” coupe
at the 84th Geneva International Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland from March 4
through 16*. The vehicle is scheduled
for launch the second half of this year.

The F Sport version adds an enhanced sporty and dynamic
interior/exterior design and the driving enjoyment and performance of Lexus
"F" vehicles to the RC, which debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show 2013.

* Mercedes-Benz do
Brasil supports the Carnival in São Paulo and Salvador with Mercedes-Benz
Actros, Axor and Atego trucks

* Social and cultural
involvement of the staff: 200 employees support carnival celebrations of “Rosas
de Ouro” samba school

Each year the Brazilian Carnival thrills millions of people
– and Mercedes-Benz is taking part. For the second time in a row, the Daimler
subsidiary Mercedes-Benz do Brasil is supporting the long-established carnival
troupe from the samba school “Escola de Samba Sociedade Rosas de Ouro” in São
Paulo.

February 27, 2014

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed a
lightweight, handheld, ultra-precision hyperspectral camera for the detection
of skin cancers and their precursors. From the surface of the skin, the camera
recognises early stages of cancer that are invisible to the naked eye.
Collaborators in the pilot study are the University of Jyväskylä, the
Päijät-Häme Central Hospital and the Skin and Allergy Hospital of Helsinki
University Central Hospital. The preliminary results are promising.

Getin Bankannounces that it has completed the first
implementation in Poland of the self-service VTM branches called Getin Point.
This innovative solution has been jointly developed by Getin Noble Bank and two
leading technology companies - Hitachi Europe Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi,
Ltd. ( TSE: 6501), and Wincor Nixdorf Sp. z o.o.

Getin Pointis the latest generation of self-service bank
branch that allows customers to perform the operations that are traditionally
made in bank branches. VTM provides support for cash, payment of bills, setting
up deposits, making transfers from the account, as well as setting up new
accounts and instant issuance of payment cards. Moreover, at any time the
customer can request for support of bank's consultants through
video-conference. Getin Bank's VTM is a combination of the top innovations in
the market, from Finger Vein biometric authentication to instant card issuance.

The company further enhances its industry-leading production
techniques by applying its expertise in monocrystalline and multicrystalline
modules

Kyocera Corporation (President: Goro Yamaguchi) today
announced its first commercialized monocrystalline silicon solar modules, which
it will begin fully supplying for the Japanese residential market in April.

February 26, 2014

Judging the effects of climate change on extinction may be
easier than previously thought, according to a paper published today in the
journal Nature Climate Change.

Although widely used assessments of threatened species, such
as the IUCN Red List, were not developed with the effects of climate change in
mind, a study of 36 amphibian and reptile species endemic to the US has
concluded that climate change may not be fundamentally different from other
extinction threats in terms of identifying species in danger of extinction.

Researchers from North Carolina State University have
developed a “superabsorbing” design that may significantly improve the light
absorption efficiency of thin film solar cells and drive down manufacturing
costs.

The superabsorbing design could decrease the thickness of
the semiconductor materials used in thin film solar cells by more than one
order of magnitude without compromising the capability of solar light
absorption.

In the heart, as in the movies, 3D action beats the 2D
experience hands down.

In 3D, healthy hearts do their own version of the twist.
Rather than a simple pumping action, they circulate blood as if they were wringing
a towel. The bottom of the heart twists as it contracts in a counterclockwise
direction while the top twists clockwise. Scientists call this the left
ventricular twist—and it can be used as an indicator of heart health.

Lab success doesn’t always translate to real-world success.
A team of Michigan State University scientists, however, has invented a new
technology that increases the odds of helping algae-based biofuels cross that
gap and come closer to reality.

The current issue of Algal Research showcases the team’s
invention — the environmental photobioreactor. The ePBR system is the world’s
first standard algae growing platform, one that simulates dynamic natural
environments.

Engineers are developing an optical “nanocavity” to boost
light absorption in semiconductors; it could improve solar cells, cameras and
more

Associated with unhappy visits to the dentist, “cavity”
means something else in the branch of physics known as optics.

Put simply, an optical cavity is an arrangement of mirrors
that allows beams of light to circulate in closed paths. These cavities help us
build things like lasers and optical fibers used for communications.

Super strong, super light, near totally transparent and one
of the best conductors of electricity ever discovered, graphene is a one-atom
thick sheet of carbon atoms that owes its amazing properties to being
two-dimensional.

Graphene, meet silver.

Silver is a high-quality noble metal that corrodes very
slowly in moist air and doesn’t typically interact chemically with other
substances. Graphene, meanwhile, is a much sought-after platform for new
physics and device applications.

Cambridge research that has for the first time successfully
grown “mini-livers” from adult mouse stem cells has won the UK’s international
prize for the scientific and technological advance with the most potential to
replace, reduce or refine the use of animals in science (the 3Rs).

Dr Meritxell Huch from the Gurdon Institute, who tonight
receives the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of
Animals in Research (NC3Rs) 3Rs Prize, has developed a method that enables
adult mouse stem cells to grow and expand into fully functioning
three-dimensional liver tissue.

Showcasing its product line-up at the Middle East
Electricity Exhibition (MEE) 2014, Panasonic is confident that its expanded
range of electrical construction materials comprising of wiring, electrical,
conduit, lighting and air moving solutions are designed to offer increased
functionality and efficiency to Middle East homes and buildings in the coming
years. MEE 2014 was held from 11th - 13th February 2014 in Dubai and was
supported by the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA), Dubai
Municipality, Emirates Green Building Council, Society of Engineers - UAE,
Environmental Center for Arab Towns, Clean Energy Business Council and Energy
Institute Middle East.

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers created new nerve
cells in the brains and spinal cords of living mammals without the need for
stem cell transplants to replenish lost cells.

Although the research indicates it may someday be possible
to regenerate neurons from the body’s own cells to repair traumatic brain
injury or spinal cord damage or to treat conditions such as Alzheimer’s
disease, the researchers stressed that it is too soon to know whether the
neurons created in these initial studies resulted in any functional
improvements, a goal for future research.

The scales of the zebrafish are very suitable for
identifying potential new drugs for treating bone diseases. This is good news
because it means fewer mice and rats will be needed for that work. What's more,
zebrafish are not killed when the scales are removed; they simply grow back. On
13 March, medical biologist Erik de Vrieze will receive his doctorate from
Radboud University Nijmegen for carrying out this research.

The use of rapeseed cake in the production of livestock feed
cuts methane and carbon dioxide emissions by up to 13%, according to the
initial results of the research carried out by Neiker-Tecnalia within the
framework of the Life-Seed Capital project. Specifically, the incorporation of
this oilseed plant into animal food cuts methane emissions by between 6% and
13% and carbon dioxide emissions by between 6.8% and 13.6%.

Heidelberg physicist develops a new theoretical model in
which the Big Bang stretches into the infinite past

Did the universe begin with a hot Big Bang or did it slowly
thaw from an extremely cold and almost static state? Prof. Dr. Christof
Wetterich, a physicist at Heidelberg University, has developed a theoretical
model that complements the nearly 100-year-old conventional model of cosmic
expansion. According to Wetterich’s theory, the Big Bang did not occur 13.8
billion years ago – instead, the birth of the universe stretches into the
infinite past. This view holds that the masses of all particles constantly
increase. The scientist explains that instead of expanding, the universe is
shrinking over extended periods of time.

The last decades have witnessed intensive attentions focused
on the transformation optics, as well as the transformation acoustics, which have paved the way for the design of
metamaterials with unprecedented flexibility in controlling and guiding waves.
This results in various conceptual devices with wave-manipulation
functionalities, such as invisibility and illusion cloaks, field rotators, and omnidirectional absorber. Among these fascinating designs, the field
rotator is an important one which can be attributed as a special kind of
illusion cloak, with the capability of
making the object inside it appears like a rotated one. Moreover, it belongs to
a few of those designs that can be experimentally implemented, but only for
electromagnetic waves and liquid waves.

Cleaning up oil spills and metal contaminates in a
low-impact, sustainable and inexpensive manner remains a challenge for
companies and governments globally.

But a group of researchers at UW–Madison is examining
alternative materials that can be modified to absorb oil and chemicals. If
further developed, the technology may offer a cheaper and “greener” method to
absorb oil and heavy metals from water and other surfaces.

Panasonic as a group just passed the overwhelming 10,000,000
fans mark across all our approved group accounts on Facebook in the beginning
of February. We were so happy that our social media managers across the world
just had to join in to say thanks in their local language. How many of the
languages can you understand?

* 20.4 Percent
Research Cell Certified at Newport Lab and Confirmed at NREL

* Achievement
capitalizes on First Solar/GE technology partnership

* Performance matches
long-standing mSi record

First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) today announced it has set
a world record for cadmium-telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic (PV) solar cell
conversion efficiency, achieving 20.4 percent conversion efficiency certified
at the Newport Corporation's Technology and Applications Center (TAC) PV Lab
and confirmed by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL). The record-setting cell was constructed at the company's
Perrysburg, Ohio factory and Research & Development Center.

February 25, 2014

PHYSICISTS PROPOSE A MODULAR QUANTUM COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
THAT OFFERS SCALABILITY TO LARGE NUMBERS OF QUBITS

How do you build a universal quantum computer? Turns out,
this question was addressed by theoretical physicists about 15 years ago. The
answer was laid out in a research paper and has become known as the DiVincenzo
criteria [See Gallery Sidebar for information on this criteria]. The
prescription is pretty clear at a glance; yet in practice the physical implementation
of a full-scale universal quantum computer remains an extraordinary challenge.

Many U.S. counties have incorporated electronic voting
technology, largely in response to well-publicized challenges related to older
mechanical and punch-card models. Although these updated systems have solved
some usability problems, they present a new set of issues for voters unfamiliar
with the technology. A new study published in Human Factors examines how
smartphone-based voting systems can be incorporated into the current
large-scale election process.

Using an inexpensive 3-D printer, biomedical engineers have
developed a custom-fitted, implantable device with embedded sensors that could
transform treatment and prediction of cardiac disorders.

Igor Efimov, PhD, at the School of Engineering & Applied
Science at Washington University in St. Louis and an international team of
biomedical engineers and materials scientists have created a 3-D elastic
membrane made of a soft, flexible, silicon material that is precisely shaped to
match the heart’s epicardium, or the outer layer of the wall of the heart.
Current technology is two-dimensional and cannot cover the full surface of the
epicardium or maintain reliable contact for continual use without sutures or
adhesives.

In “World Ocean Review 3”, maribus has published a profound
analysis of the opportunities and risks associated with the use of the oceans.
The study was conducted in cooperation with the cluster of excellence "The
Future Ocean" in Kiel, Germany.

The hunger of mankind for raw materials continues unabated.
Oil consumption has doubled since the early 1970s, and the demand for mineral
resources is increasing with the ever growing use of metals, such as copper, nickel
or cobalt, in electronic products like smart phones, solar panels or hybrid
cars.

With its "Double Impact – Out of Home & Mobile
Targeting" offering, APG|SGA is launching a package which cleverly links
advertising at poster sites and on mobile devices by means of geolocalization.
APG|SGA has agreed an exclusive partnership with Jaduda GmbH, a full-service
provider for mobile marketing from Berlin, who will provide the necessary
marketing technology for location-specific mobile campaigns.

On the opening day of the HELI-EXPO 2014 show in Los
Angeles, Thales unveils its Avionics 2020 new-generation helicopter cockpit.

Modeled on the principles behind the ground-breaking
Avionics 2020 for fixed wing aircraft presented at the 2013 Paris Air Show,
this cockpit represents the new-generation in helicopter avionics.

Avionics 2020 is the result of a number of partnerships,
spearheaded by Thales with researchers, scientific institutions and world class
experts, aimed at refining knowledge in the field of human machine interface.

Adjustments to operation of Pacific Northwest dam triple the
numbers of salmon

By adjusting water discharges in ways designed to boost
salmon productivity, officials at a dam in central Washington were able to more
than triple the numbers of juvenile salmon downstream of the dam over a 30-year
period, according to a study published Feb. 25 in the Canadian Journal of
Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

Researchers from LSTM have found that a single genetic
mutation causes resistance to DDT and pyrethroids (an insecticide class used in
mosquito nets). With the continuing rise of resistance the research, published
in the journal Genome Biology, is key as scientists say that this knowledge
could help improve malaria control strategies.

The researchers, led by Dr Charles Wondji, used a wide range
of methods to narrow down how the resistance works, finding a single mutation
in the GSTe2 gene, which makes insects break down DDT so it’s no longer toxic.
They have also shown that this gene makes insects resistant to pyrethroids
raising the concern that GSTe2 gene could protect mosquitoes against the major
insecticides used in public health.

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE: YGE)
("Yingli Green Energy" or the "Company"), the largest
vertically integrated photovoltaic ("PV") module manufacturer in the
world, known as "Yingli Solar", today announced that it will supply
54 MW of solar modules to seven projects in the United Kingdom
("U.K.") that are developed by Grid Essence UK Ltd., a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Grid Essence Holdings Ltd.

The Company's multicrystalline YGE Series modules will be
installed in ground-mounted solar projects located in the south of England and
Wales. Construction has already begun, and modules will be delivered between
February and March 2014. Scheduled for grid connection by the end of Q1 2014,
the seven solar power plants will generate an estimated total of 54,500 MWh of
green electricity per year.

Mobile-based volunteer computing project to empower
smartphone owners to help answer some of the world’s biggest questions

HTC, a global leader in mobile innovation and design, today
unveiled HTC Power To Give™, an initiative that aims to create the a
supercomputer by harnessing the collective processing power of Android
smartphones.

Currently in beta, HTC Power To Give aims to galvanize
smartphone owners to unlock their unused processing power in order to help
answer some of society’s biggest questions. Currently, the fight against
cancer, AIDS and Alzheimer’s; the drive to ensure every child has clean water
to drink and even the search for extra-terrestrial life are all being tackled
by volunteer computing platforms.

February 24, 2014

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have demonstrated
that they can make sensitive chemical analyses of minute samples of
nanoparticles by, essentially, roasting them on top of a quartz crystal. The
NIST-developed technique, "microscale thermogravimetric analysis,"
holds promise for studying nanomaterials in biology and the environment, where
sample sizes often are quite small and larger-scale analysis won't work.*

Tiny and swift, viruses are hard to capture on video. Now
researchers at Princeton University have achieved an unprecedented look at a
virus-like particle as it tries to break into and infect a cell. The technique
they developed could help scientists learn more about how to deliver drugs via
nanoparticles — which are about the same size as viruses — as well as how to
prevent viral infection from occurring.

The video reveals a virus-like particle zipping around in a
rapid, erratic manner until it encounters a cell, bounces and skids along the
surface, and either lifts off again or, in much less time than it takes to
blink an eye, slips into the cell’s interior. The work was published in Nature
Nanotechnology.

Learning an instrument, dancing ballet or reading braille –
the golden rule for acquiring skills such as these is: practise, practise,
practise. However, there are some things that the brain learns without any
training at all. RUB researchers have demonstrated in several studies that
perception and motor skills can be improved through repeated passive
stimulation. Patients suffering from brain damage benefit from this approach.
In collaboration with partners from the industry, the Bochum-based team is
developing a stimulation glove which alleviates stroke impairments.

Environmental information about CO2, airborne dust and
pollen will no longer be collected only at isolated measuring stations. From
now on, cyclists, bus drivers and the man in the street will be able to do
their bit.

“At present, environmental measurements are made using
expensive stations spread around the country. However, now that everybody has a
mobile phone, and with the development of technology, we ourselves can
contribute with various types of data,” says Arne Berre at SINTEF ICT.

The foes of power grids everywhere, lightning and other high
voltage currents now can help utilities track the health of components
throughout their systems.

For good reason, when power switches or lightning create
high voltage currents, power companies view it as a problem. These so-called
natural transients have the power to destroy components and cause disturbances
along the transmission line.

Physicists have found that platinum nanoparticles limit
their size and organize into specific patterns when bonded to freestanding
graphene.

While displaying this behavior, the bonded platinum
nanoparticles maintain an effective surface area functioning as a catalyst for chemical
reactions, a discovery that could lower the production costs of
platinum-catalyzed fuel cells.

Scientists on the CDF and DZero experiments at the U.S.
Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory have announced
that they have found the final predicted way of creating a top quark,
completing a picture of this particle nearly 20 years in the making.

The two collaborations jointly announced on Friday, Feb. 21,
that they had observed one of the rarest methods of producing the elementary
particle – creating a single top quark through the weak nuclear force, in what
is called the “s-channel.” For this analysis, scientists from the CDF and DZero
collaborations sifted through data from more than 500 trillion
proton-antiproton collisions produced by the Tevatron from 2001 to 2011. They
identified about 40 particle collisions in which the weak nuclear force
produced single top quarks in conjunction with single bottom quarks.

Engineers like to make things that work. And if one wants to
make something work using nanoscale components—the size of proteins,
antibodies, and viruses—mimicking the behavior of cells is a good place to
start since cells carry an enormous amount of information in a very tiny
packet. As Erik Winfree, professor of computer science, computation and neutral
systems, and bioengineering, explains, "I tend to think of cells as really
small robots. Biology has programmed natural cells, but now engineers are
starting to think about how we can program artificial cells. We want to program
something about a micron in size, finer than the dimension of a human hair,
that can interact with its chemical environment and carry out the spectrum of
tasks that biological things do, but according to our instructions."

Rutgers-led study suggests pathways to alleviating
inflammation in disorders such as sepsis, arthritis

When acupuncture first became popular in the Western
Hemisphere it had its doubters. It still does. But over time, through detailed
observation, scientists have produced real evidence that ancient Chinese
practitioners of the medical arts were onto something.

Now new research documents a direct connection between the
use of acupuncture and physical processes that could alleviate sepsis, a
condition that often develops in hospital intensive care units, springs from
infection and inflammation, and takes an estimated 250,000 lives in the United
States every year.

Continued rapid growth in India’s economy is changing the
country’s living environment and inspiring many of its citizens to seek more
comfortable living spaces. Kana, a writer living in India, visits India’s first
showroom for home LED lighting (which opened on December 2, 2013) and shares
with us how Panasonic is responding to the increasing demand for stylish décor.

Panasonic Eco Solutions Company offers its lighting
solutions in 5 markets across Asia. It recently opened a showroom in India
directly operated by Anchor Electricals Pvt. Ltd. (Anchor), the No. 1 wiring
device company in India, which was acquired by Panasonic. Mr. Otaki, the
president of Anchor, gave a speech on the showroom’s opening day, saying, “I am
happy that you will be able to experience our greatest Panasonic LED
technology. From now, by utilizing this showroom, we will be moving into the
lighting fixtures business here in Mumbai,” thus expressing Panasonic’s
commitment to its lighting business in India.

About Me

Graduated from University of Marmara, Academy of Fine Arts, Department of Design of Industrial Products and completed her dissertation titled "A Review on the Effects of the Trends & Periods on the Structural Constructions on the Products That are Associated With Consumer Electronics" in the same department for her Master’s Degree.

Lectured at University of Anatolia, Department of Industrial Products on part-time basis. Currently, she has been lecturing on part-time basis Faculty of Arts & Science, Department of Industrial Products Design at University of Doğuş.

She was the Head of ETMK Istanbul Branch from February 2010 to June 2011.

She took part in many competitions and projects as a member of advisory board and jury. Currently, she is the acting executive officer coordinating various projects between the Industry and University at the company where she is employed.

ABOUT THE CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE:

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